The Best Albums of 2025 (So Far)

This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply.

I am starting to feel like these “time to rank things” lists pop back up on me quicker and quicker each year. We are once again halfway through the year, and that means it’s time to reflect on the best albums of the year (so far). Below, you will find both our combined staff top 30, as well as individual lists from our contributors and moderators. We hope you’ll find something new to love.

Note: You can share your own list in our music forum.

The Top Albums of 2025 (So Far)

1. Turnstile – Never Enough
2. Spiritbox – Tsunami Sea
3. Bon Iver – SABLE, fABLE
4. Coheed & Cambria – Vaxis – Act III: The Father of Make Believe
5. Anxious – Bambi
6. Momma – Welcome To My Blue Sky
7. Moving Mountains – Pruning Of The Lower Limbs
8. The Maine – Dyed
9. PUP – Who Will Look After the Dogs?
10. Underoath – The Place After This One
11. Arm’s Length – There’s A Whole World Out There
12. Hotline TNT – Raspberry Moon
13. Greet Death – Die In Love
14. Jason Isbell – Foxes in the Snow
15. Cloakroom – Last Leg Of The Human Table
16. Deafheaven – Lonely People With Power
17. Lady Gaga – Mayhem
18. Charmer – Downpour
19. Haim – I Quit
20. Silverstein – Antibloom
21. Winona Fighter – My Apologies to the Chef
22. Superheaven – Superheaven
23. Matt Nathanson – King of (Un)Simple
24. The Callous Daoboys – I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven
25. Ethel Cain – Perverts
26. Oversize – Vital Signs
27. Counting Crows – Butter Miracle
28. Japanese Breakfast – For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)
29. L.S. Dunes – Violet
30. Lorde – Virgin

The Playlist

Looking for an easy way to check out all of the albums in our top thirty? We’ve got a playlist for that. You’ll find one on Apple Music and one on Spotify with one great song from each great album.

The Nerd Stat Stuff

Our final compiled list was put together using our ranking algorithm. There were 9 contributors and 121 unique albums across all of the lists. In total, 34 albums out of the 121 were on more than one list with the number one album appearing on 7 of the 9 lists.

Contributor Lists

Jason Tate

1. Moving Mountains – Pruning of the Lower Limbs
2. The Maine – Dyed (2008-2023)
3. Turnstile – Never Enough
4. Spiritbox – Tsunami Sea
5. Coheed and Cambria – The Father of Make Believe
6. Matt Nathanson – King of (Un)Simple
7. Heartwork – Revisionist History
8. Oversize – Vital Signs
9. Winona Fighter – My Apologies to the Chef
10. Underoath – The Place After This One
11. The Callous Daoboys – I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven
12. Slow Joy – A Joy So Slow at Times I Don’t Think It’s Coming
13. Scowl – Are We All Angels
14. Bon Iver – Sable, Fable
15. Lady Gaga – Mayhem
16. Grayscale – The Hart
17. Miley Cyrus – Something Beautiful
18. Anxious – Bambi
19. Arm’s Length – There’s A Whole World Out There
20. Sunday (1994) – Devotion (EP))
21. Ruston Kelly – Dirt Emo Vol. 2 (EP)
22. Nightly – Song to Drive To
23. Scott Sellers – One and, and, and, and One and, and Three and, and
24. Momma – Welcome to My Blue Sky
25. Charmer – Downpour
26. The Young Hearts – The Good, the Bad, & the Rest of Us (EP)
27. Lucy Dacus – Forever Is a Feeling
28. Spitalfield – Play + Record (EP)
29. Felicity – Mixtape For The End of the World, Vol. 1
30. Last Night Saved My Life – The First Hello

It’s been a strong first half of the music year for me. And one of the big reasons is that Moving Mountains release has decimated me in the best way possible. Earnest, emotional, and down right exciting. It’s the kind of album that I go into every year hoping I’ll find. The one that just knocks me on my ass. The rest of my top thirty is rounded out with a bunch of great music, some fun EPs that are worth your time, and as a whole I’ve been very pleased with how the year’s gone so far. And the best part? I know we have a lot of great music coming in the back half of 2025. Buckle up!

The Stats: For the first half of the year, I’ve listened to 1,097 albums, 531 artists, and 8,502 songs (14,156 scrobbles). My most played album of the year so far is Midtown’s Living Well is the Best Revenge. (Well, how about that.) And, my most played artist so far this year is The Ataris. If you’d like to follow more of my listening habits, please subscribe to my newsletter or check out my blog.

Craig Manning

1. Bruce Springsteen – Tracks II: The Lost Albums
2. Ryan Hurd – Midwest Rock & Roll
3. Jason Isbell – Foxes in the Snow
4. Maren Morris – Dreamsicle
5. Ken Yates – Total Cinema
6. Trousdale – Growing Pains
7. Anxious – Bambi
8. The Maine – Dyed
9. Momma – Welcome to My Blue Sky
10. Matt Nathanson – King of Unsimple
11. I’m with Her – Wild and Clear and Blue
12. The Head and the Heart – Aperture
13. Florry – Sounds Like…
14. Counting Crows – Butter Miracle
15. Hotline TNT – Raspberry Moon
16. Mae Erlewine – What It Takes
17. Bon Iver – Sable, Fable
18. Knox – Going Going Gone
19. Haim – I Quit
20. Michigander – Michigander

Adam Grundy

1. Anxious – Bambi
2. Arm’s Length – There’s A Whole World Out There
3. Coheed and Cambria – Vaxis III: The Father of Make Believe
4. Momma – Welcome To My Blue Sky
5. Underoath – The Place After This One
6. Spiritbox – Tsunami Sea
7. Turnstile – NEVER ENOUGH
8. L.S. Dunes – Violet
9. Catbite – Doom Garden
10. Silverstein – Antibloom
11. E.R.I.E. – The Highs, The Lows and everything in Between
12. Lyn Lapid – Buzzkill
13. Luke Spiller – Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine
14. The Maine – Dyed (2008-2023)
15. Amber Pacific – All In
16. TopHouse – Practice
17. Out Of Service – Devastation Awaits
18. Lady Gaga – Mayhem
19. Teddy Swims – I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 2)
20. Beach Bunny – Tunnel Vision
21. The Backfires – This Is Not An Exit
22. Bartees Strange – Horror
23. FRND CRCL – JRSY FRSH
24. Sarah Rose Project – Sarah Rose Project
25. Car Seat Headrest – The Scholars
26. HAIM – I Quit
27. Arrows In Action – I Think I’ve Been Here Before (Side A)
28. JR JR – Back to the Land
29. Superheaven – Superheaven
30. Shayfer James – Summoning

Drew Beringer

1. Home is Where – Hunting Season
2. Baths – Gut
3. Cloakroom – Last Leg of the Human Table
4. Deafheaven – Lonely People With Power
5. The Callous Daoboys – I Don’t Want To See You In Heaven
6. Adult Mom – Natural Causes
7. Planning for Burial – It’s Closeness, It’s Easy
8. Greet Death – Die in Love
9. For Your Health – This Bitter Garden
10. Charmer – Downpour
11. Turnstile – Never Enough
12. Hotline TNT – Raspberry Moon
13. Pet Symmetry – Big Symmetry
14. Moving Mountains – Pruning of the Lower Limbs
15. Scowl – Are We All Angels
16. PUP – Who Will Look After The Dogs?
17. Shearling – Motherfucker, I am Both: “Amen” and “Hallelujah”…
18. Tunde Adebimpe – Thee Black Boltz
19. Laura Stevenson – Late Great
20. Club Night – Joy Coming Down

Trevor Graham

1. Moving Mountains – Pruning Of The Lower Limbs
2. Cloakroom – Last Leg Of The Human Table
3. Hannah Cohen – Earthstar Mountain
4. Men I Trust – Equus Caballus
5. Great Grandpa – Patience, Moonbeam
6. Charmer – Downpour
7. Greet Death – Die In Love
8. Ruby Haunt – Blinking In The Wind
9. MIKE – Showbiz!
10. Bon Iver – SABLE, fABLE
11. Superheaven – Superheaven
12. OVERSIZE – Vital Signs
13. Mei Semones – Animaru
14. Glare – Sunset Funeral
15. Momma – Welcome To My Blue Sky
16. Ovrkast. – While The Iron Is Hot
17. Dirty Art Club – The Silver Suite
18. Aminé – 13 Months Of Sunshine
19. Japanese Breakfast – For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)
20. Hotline TNT – Raspberry Moon
21. SOM – Let The Light In
22. Foxwarren – 2
23. Athletics – What Makes You Think This Is How It All Ends?
24. Pure Hex – Spilling/Five Of Tears
25. PUSH – maybe our days are numbered
26. Saba – From The Private Collections of Saba and No ID
27. lots of hands – into a pretty room
28. Glyss – Eternal Return
29. Little Simz – Lotus
30. Bedridden – Moths Strapped To Each Other’s Backs

Ashley Perez

1. Pirouette – Model/Actriz
2. TURNSTILE – NEVER ENOUGH
3. PUP – Who Will Look After the Dogs?
4. Ministry – The Squirrely Years Revisited
5. Pixel Grip – Percepticide: The Death of Reality
6. House of Protection – Outrun You All EP
7. Wednesday 13 – Mid Death Crisis
8. MS PAINT – No Separation EP
9. Alien Weaponry – Te Ra

Aaron Mook

1. Deafheaven – Lonely People With Power
2. Greet Death – Die in Love
3. Youth Lagoon – Rarely Do I Dream
4. Ethel Cain – Perverts
5. Japanese Breakfast – For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)
6. Bon Iver – SABLE, fABLE
7. Friendship – Caveman Wakes Up
8. Anthony Green – So Long, Avalon
9. Momma – Welcome to My Blue Sky
10. Turnstile – NEVER ENOUGH
11. PUP – Who Will Look After the Dogs?
12. Jason Isbell – Foxes in the Snow
13. Westside Gunn – 12
14. Hotline TNT – Raspberry Moon
15. Lorde – Virgin

Garrett Lemons

1. Spiritbox – Tsunami Sea
2. Anxious – Bambi
3. Coheed & Cambria – Vaxis – Act III: The Father of Make Believe
4. Skrillex – Fuck U Skrillex You Think Ur Andy Warhol but Ur Not!! <3
5. Underoath – The Place After This One
6. Arm’s Length – There’s A Whole World Out There
7. Bon Iver – SABLE, fABLE
8. Moving Mountains – Pruning of the Lower Limbs
9. Lady Gaga – Mayhem
10. The Maine – dyed
11. Lizzo – My Face Hurts From Smiling
12. Turnstile – Never Enough
13. Lorde – Virgin
14. Mumford & Sons – Rushmere
15. Ethel Cain – Perverts
16. Haim – I Quit
17. Lil Wayne – Tha Carter VI
18. L.S. Dunes – Violet

Brett Bodner

1. Sleep Token – Even in Arcadia
2. Turnstile – Never Enough
3. Silverstein – Antibloom
4. Spiritbox – Tsunami Sea
5. Winona Fighter – My Apologies to the Chef
6. Jason Isbell – Foxes in the Snow
7. PUP – Who Will Look After the Dogs?
8. Counting Crows – Butter Miracle: The Complete Sweets!
9. A Day to Remember – Big Ole Album Vol. 1
10. Anxious – Bambi
11. Coheed & Cambria – Vaxis – Act III: The Father of Make Believe
12. Beach Bunny – Tunnel Vision
13. Arm’s Length – There’s a Whole World Out There
14. Bartees Strange – Horror
15. Killswitch Engage – This Consequence
16. Julien Baker & Torres – Send a Prayer My Way
17. Underoath – The Place After This One
18. Lucy Dacus – Forever Is a Feeling
19. Bon Iver – Sable, Fable
20. Superheaven – Superheaven

more

Not all embedded content is displayed here. You can view the original to see embedded videos and other embedded content.